War and Peace

This has been something that God is helping me understand what it means to not be a pacifist as the world defines it and to not be for a just war. All throughout Jesus' life he shows again and again that there is a better way then war. I am not condemning war but simply saying that there is a way that is more effective than war. I believe that war will never solve anything. It might appear to for a short period of time but then we turn the cycle and we end up in war again. Jesus' life was an example of how to react against violence. "You have heard that it was said, Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. But I tell you do not resist an evil person." Matt 38-39 At first glance you could take this in a couple different ways. You could believe that this is perfect grounds for war or attacking back, but that is not logical because Jesus says not an eye for an eye. Also, you could take this as complete and utter pacifism and I claim that you have an skewed view of what this means. Do not resist an evil person actually refers to do not resist evil with evil. It is not saying inaction is the best course it is saying that evil is not the right course. In Philippians it says "Do everything without complaining or arguing , so that you may be blameless and pure children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life...." Romans says "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary:
If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink;
In doing this, you will heap BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12

I challenge you to true to rationalize these versus into a just war theory. These verses are at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We are called to be pure innocent people. We are not called to take sides or pass judgment on the world. That is God's job and he is a lot better at it then us. This isn't completely about war more importantly it is about our everyday lives. Learn to live without hate or anger. Learn to be forgiving and ask for forgiveness. Learn to attack evil with good and believe that it will work. Only when you have done this then can we fight the bigger issues such as war. It saddens me to the see that the only people who give the church a second thought is the Christians. The pagan culture around us doesn't even care about us. We are what is called a Post-Christian Era. Don't be sadden by this. This is how the world was when the biggest growth in the church occurred. I could go on but I do not need to what is said is sufficient.